Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS) Earns Buy Rating from HC Wainwright

Key Points

• HC Wainwright reissued a buy rating on Tarsus with an $88 price objective, implying roughly a 38% upside from current levels.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but the consensus is a Moderate Buy with an average target of $90.67, ranging from two Strong Buy ratings to one Sell.
• Tarsus posted Q1 EPS of ($0.20) (vs. ($0.19) expected) but revenue of $151.7M beat estimates, and the company is advancing lead candidate OC‑01 (varenicline) in Phase 3 for dry eye disease.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reissued by research analysts at HC Wainwright in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $88.00 price objective on the stock. HC Wainwright's target price points to a potential upside of 38.32% from the company's current price.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, April 18th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Lifesci Capital raised Tarsus Pharmaceuticals to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Friday, April 24th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $98.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $90.67.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals Stock Performance

NASDAQ:TARS opened at $63.62 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.27 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $69.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.07. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals has a twelve month low of $38.51 and a twelve month high of $85.25. The company has a quick ratio of 3.82, a current ratio of 3.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:TARS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 23rd. The company reported ($0.20) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.19) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $151.67 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $144.56 million. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals had a negative net margin of 14.72% and a negative return on equity of 19.63%. As a group, research analysts predict that Tarsus Pharmaceuticals will post -0.74 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

In other Tarsus Pharmaceuticals news, CEO Bobak R. Azamian sold 11,964 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total transaction of $801,588.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 33,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,239,207. This trade represents a 26.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, General Counsel Bryan Wahl sold 4,231 shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.00, for a total value of $283,477.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 63,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,285,253. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 79,391 shares of company stock worth $5,432,035. Corporate insiders own 8.97% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of TARS. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 22,143 shares of the company's stock worth $1,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 71,220 shares of the company's stock worth $3,659,000 after purchasing an additional 1,394 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 105.8% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 10,456 shares of the company's stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 402.7% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 140,610 shares of the company's stock worth $5,696,000 after purchasing an additional 112,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of Tarsus Pharmaceuticals by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,501 shares of the company's stock worth $37,614,000 after purchasing an additional 101,978 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.01% of the company's stock.

About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals

Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical‐stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing novel therapies for diseases of the eye and ocular surface. The company's research platform centers on neuro‐effector modulation to address underlying disease mechanisms rather than solely treating symptoms. Tarsus's lead candidate, OC-01 (varenicline solution), is an intranasal formulation in Phase 3 development for the treatment of dry eye disease, a condition affecting millions worldwide and associated with significant patient discomfort and reduced quality of life.

In addition to its dry eye program, Tarsus is advancing preclinical and early‐stage programs targeting other ophthalmic indications, including allergic conjunctivitis and retinal disorders.

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